An American raised in Paris, the novelist, playwright and essayist Green (The Distant Lands) brings his .unique childhood to life in this thoughtful and analytic account of his early years, from 1900 to 1916. Chiefly concerned with the development of a young child's spirituality, he presents a detailed account of his early education as a Protestant by his mother and his subsequent conversion to Roman Catholicism after her death when he was 15. Green describes his early sexual feelings and their conflict with his religious awakening in a personal but carefully objective manner. Well-drawn portraits of his parents, siblings and schoolmates also distinguish this outstanding memoir, which re-creates the heart and mind of a child growing up in the early 20th century. (Nov.)